REWARD SYSTEM AND THE BRAIN:
TO EAT OR NOT TO EAT? by Sunil Daniel, MD, FTOS
" There is no sincerer love than the love of food.” – George Bernard Shaw We need food for energy to keep us alive. Our body and brain are highly efficient in managing the complex process of getting energy from the food we eat (intake) and in using it for sustaining life (output). This process, known as energy balance, is controlled by our brain and keeps our body weight within a certain range. However, energy balance is also influenced by other factors such as environment, genetics, habit, diseases, gut bacteria, medications, and eating for reward or pleasure. When we eat more than what we need, the extra energy is stored in the form of adipose tissue (body-fat) 1. Throughout time, the consumption of excess calories (overeating) can lead to weight gain and obesity. During 2011 – 2014, 36.5 percent of U.S. adults and 17 percent of U.S. children had obesity2. Obesity is now widely seen as a disease and its complications include heart disease, diabetes, cancer, sleep apnea, arthritis and depression, among others. The World Health Organization (WHO) has found it to be the fifth leading cause of death globally.
TO EAT OR NOT TO EAT - HOW DOES OUR BRAIN DECIDE? Our body weight, energy balance and our drive to eat form a complex, back and forth communicative relationship between our brain, gastrointestinal tract (GI tract), and other organs including fat cells (adipocytes). These signals are primarily located in areas of the brain known as the hypothalamus and the brainstem.